Love Never Dies
by Dragongirl4741
Summary: What would happen if two Universes came together. bad summary Basicly this story has been ratteling around since DV aired and it has finally come together enough to put it from my head to your eyes. Ronon/Jennifer. **Rating has changed**. Please R
1. Chapter 1

Love Never Dies

**Disclaimer** Not mine I own nothing other than my own character of Dr Moran, The rest I borrow and give back.

**Authors' Note:** this is and is not an AU. The 5 'misplaced' Characters are from an AU the rest are not.

**Spoilers** hints at eppy's from Quarantine through to First Contact with my own little twists thrown in.

* * *

"Are you sure this is safe Rodney?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, of course I am! I did all the simulations and I worked out all the dangers, so it is good." Rodney said dismissively. "Everything will be fine. I am telling you nothing can possibly go wrong."

"Famous last words." John mumbled.

"Yes, yes, but not from me." Rodney said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, this sounds interesting; what are the famous last words?" Jennifer said, walking into the lab.

"Rodney saying nothing can go wrong when things usually go bad around him. He is turning it off now. Aren't you Rodney? So, what brings you here Doc?"

"Well, I had a little free time and I have a practice set with Teyla and I thought we could start early. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, she and Ronon are still off-world. Teyla wanted to visit her people and Ronon wanted to get away for a while, and he might have said something about a hunt. They are scheduled back in a few minutes though." John said, checking his watch.

"Oh, I remember her saying something about going off-world. Oh well, it can wait." Jennifer said. "How is the training going by the way?" John asked.

"Good. I think Teyla says that I am progressing but sometimes I just feel like she is saying that to be nice."

"Jennifer, I would never tell you something that was not the truth." Teyla said, as her and Ronon walked into the lab.

"You know, I think we could fit a few more people in over there by that corner. Can we hold this impromptu social somewhere else, where my equipment isn't in danger of being damaged?" Rodney said, clearly irritated at having so many people taking up his space.

"Relax McKay." Ronon growled.

"What does this one do?" Jennifer teased, with a glint in her eye, her finger hovering over a green button on a nearby machine.

"No! Don't touch that!" Rodney yelled, reaching for her wrist to pull it away, but he accidentally pushed her hand down causing her to push the button.

"What was that?" Ronon asked raising his head after lowering it to hide his eyes from the sudden flash of bright white light.

"Oh crap!" McKay said, looking around him while blinking furiously to clear his vision. "Wait, it might not be so bad; things look exactly the same. For the first time I think I am glad that my invention didn't work."

"What do you mean 'things look the same' McKay?" John asked.

"Hold it! What is going on here?" A very familiar sounding voice asked from the doorway.

"Oh crap! It worked." Rodney said. "That machine is an invention that makes it possible to travel from one parallel world to another, and it seems to have worked, unless you have a twin brother you have kept secret from everyone."

"Well, we will have to see about that. Rodney, I need to see you in your lab now." John Sheppard the 2nd said from his position at the door. He also called for Major Lorne's team and Mr. Woolsey to join him. "Can I trust you all are going to behave and not cause any issues?"

"We are just as confused as you; we aren't going to do anything."

No one moved at all save a few looks at the others. Rodney was looking all around and occasionally looking to the door and the second John Sheppard. John Sheppard the first for the third time was looking at another version of himself.

Jennifer couldn't believe it. Today she actually had an easy day at work and now here she was staring at a second John who she noticed kept glancing over at her with…what was that look? There seemed to be a whole range of emotions that chased each other disbelief, regret, sadness, worry, but why? Is it probably just the situation we are in she thought to herself, still, she thought that there was something else going on.Major Lorne and his men got to the lab at about the same time as McKay. They both saw inside the lab and their shock was evident once they saw the five people inside.

"John, what is going on?" They heard Teyla before she peered in the room. She took one look at the faces of the doubles in turn. She then looked at John, gave a slight nod, and left without another word.

"Look, I understand the need for security and all trust me, but I am not really enjoying feeling like I am an exhibit in a zoo. What say you that we go somewhere a tad more private and talk?" John asked himself.

"One thing at a time…Col. First thing we are going to do is go for a walk to the infirmary and give you all a through once over; see if we can find out what is going on. Then we will go to the briefing room and have a nice long sit down and try and put all the pieces together." Woolsey said, as he walked in getting only as much information as one of Lorne's men knew.

"I really wasn't expecting it to work; I mean I had hoped that it would but I still had simulations left to run. Do you know how lucky we are? We could all be dead right now." McKay started rambling.

"McKay, shut up." Ronon growled, pushing Rodney forward to follow the rest of the people on the way out of the lab.

"Yeah, but look, it isn't my fault. Jennifer, why did you push that button without knowing what it would do?" McKay continued.

"Look Rodney, I had no intention of pushing that button. If you hadn't grabbed my wrist I would never have touched the button." Jennifer shot back.

"Cool it. We will worry about assigning blame later. First we are going to do what Mr. Woolsey has told us to do." John told his people.

"Dr. Moran, we are bringing you five people who could be doubles of some of our people. We are going to want a full workup on all of them." Woolsey called in over his radio.

"Dr. Moran?" Teyla asked, looking at the people that were walking with them, but no one said a word, much less made eye contact.

* * *

"So, it looks like things are as Dr McKay said. They are us, well, you from an alternative universe." Dr. Moran told Woolsey. During the briefing, he had run physicals checking and rechecking the results just to make sure that nothing had been missed. He was still new and the last thing he wanted to do was mess up the opportunity he had been offered.

"Well, how do we get everyone back to whatever universe they belong in?" Woolsey wanted to know.

"That is simple. I just need to…."

The noise coming from just on the other side of the door drew not only McKay's attention but also the attention of everyone in the room. The doors slid open and revealed the cause of the commotion. Ronon was standing there with a very distressed looking Teyla at his heels.

"I am sorry, I tried to keep him away but people were talking and he overheard. There was nothing I could do to keep him away." Teyla told 'her' John.

"You are really alive." Ronon said, walking with single mindedness up to Jennifer. Once he got to her, he grabbed her and pulled her into the tightest embrace she could ever remember receiving.

* * *

**A/N** I hope you have enjoyed it so far I have more planed and as always Reviews are loved (they are my drug of choice)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**A/N** I am going to go into the differences in the universes more in the next chapter or two I hope you like this one and am busy working on the next chapter already.

The five 'visitors' were in shock! They didn't know why the big Satedan had this reaction, and what did he mean by saying that she was alive? His voice had been a mix of emotions. What had happened that caused the usually stoic man to walk in, grab and hold onto Jennifer Keller like there was no tomorrow?

The others knew what had happened and to some extent knew why Ronon had reacted this way. John knew better than most what his friend had gone through. While he couldn't fully understand what Ronon had gone through when Dr Keller had died, he knew that things had been very difficult for his friend. Ronon had hardly talked to anyone since his return to Atlantis after his and Dr Keller's trip on the Deadalus a little over a month ago. The mission that had been her last.

"Ronon, buddy let her go. It isn't her. Well, not _our_ her." John said. "And we still have a lot of questions that need answers."

Ronon released a very shocked Jennifer but stayed near her. He was aware that it wasn't _his _Jennifer but everything about her reminded him of her.

"Col Sheppard." Woolsey said clearing his throat.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Not you Col Sheppard _my_ Col Sheppard. There has to be an easy way to do this." Woolsey said. "Dr Keller will be easy enough but the rest…."

"Well we could go by our last names and all of you could go by first names." Jennifer said feeling slightly nervous. She had been thrown off by Ronon's reaction to her and if they were about to be let out of the briefing room she wanted it sooner rather than later.

"Good idea Dr Keller." Woolsey said with a nod. "John, see to quarters for our guests and allow Dr McKay to have access to anything that might help him and the others home. Rodney, help him out."

"Yes sir." John said. "Meredith, you heard the man. Help McKay here with whatever he needs."

"Don't call me that! You know that using Rodney is perfectly acceptable, and yes, of course I will help."

"Hey, I am just going with what Dr Keller said, and Meredith is your first name." John said with a chuckle. "Okay then, Sheppard, Keller, Emmagan, Dex, come with me. McKay, go with Meredith, I mean Rodney, and the two of you get to work."

Everyone began to file out; the McKay's going in one direction and the rest going in another direction. Everyone had questions but they would have to wait.

"Can I talk to you?" Ronon asked, stopping Jennifer from following. "John, could you…"

"I'm not sure about that idea." John said, worry evident in his voice.

"I need talk to her….please."

"Sure, but not too long." John said, after thinking about the request. He was pretty sure he had never heard the other man say please before.

Ronon didn't move till after the others had left. Once they had, he took hold of her hand and led her away.

"Where are we going?" Jennifer asked, as they walked down the hallways, but Ronon would not answer.

"What happened to her, to the other Dr Keller?" She tried, hoping that she could get some idea what was going through the unreadable Ronon. Again, he didn't answer, but his step did falter for a second.

The rest of the walk was done in silence. Ronon didn't stop till he reached his destination, a pier on the south end of the city far from anyone else. When they got there, he released her hand and they stood watching the ocean and the sun as it set.

"We used to come here when we could get the time. It was almost a game, but then…."

"What happened?"

"She was killed by a wraith. She had worked on a way to rid the wraith on their need to feed on humans."

Jennifer knew what he was talking about. She was working on something similar in her own universe. She remained silent though, seeming to know that this was something that he needed to say without interruption.

"I went with her. I told her that it would make me feel better to know that I was there with her in case anything went wrong. Things did go wrong though, the wraith tried to take over the ship. I had been training her to fight and use a gun and she was learning. I knew that she had the ability to defend herself but she was not the strongest fighter. It just wasn't in her to be a warrior but…" He stopped, and his eyes had a far away look to them. Jennifer knew that he was no longer seeing the view in front of them but memories of _his_ Dr Keller. He cleared his throat and continued his story.

"We fought and she did everything I had trained her to do. I fought as hard as I could knowing that I couldn't let her down. There were just so many. One of the wraith's shots hit a control panel that she was standing near and it blew. She died. I tried to get her to safety, to help, but there was nothing I could do.

"We had been together a few months before then, and losing her was almost like Sateda all over again. I lost another woman that I cared for, that I loved. I didn't ever think that I would find someone that would get to me like that again. I know that you are not her but for a moment I couldn't stop what felt so natural to me."

Jennifer didn't know what to say. Really, what could you say? This wasn't something that happened often. Instead, she stood silently next to Ronon Dex, a man that she was familiar with, but at the same time a man she had never met before today.

"I should get you back." Ronon said, minutes later. They turned and started the walk back. Ronon radioed John and found out where her room was, but that was the only conversation.

Ronon told her good bye when they got to the door to her room and walked away without a backward glance. Jennifer had a feeling that he was telling _his_ Jennifer good bye and not her.

Jennifer went into her temporary room and thought about what she knew about Ronon Dex and what she had just learned about the Ronon Dex that had just left her at the door. She knew that Ronon was an attractive man, heck, attractive was an understatement, he had a number of admirers on Atlantis and she was just one of them. She had never had much chance to talk to Ronon other than when he was injured while off world or after sparring accidents. She had always believed that there was more to the quiet man than he showed to everyone and even in her wildest dreams had never thought that a man like him would ever want, or be interested in a woman like her. It looked like, at least in this universe, her double was exactly the kind of woman that he had wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

_This is a short one sorry I wrote it to help show some of the differences in the two worlds. There will be more 'meat' in the following chapters. _

_Thanks to all of you that have left me reviews. I love reading them :D_

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Chapter 3

Teyla was at Jennifer's door the next morning to walk with her to the Mess hall for breakfast. This was perfect for Jennifer; she was looking forward to having a chance to talk to someone about last nights events. Ever since Jennifer had asked the Athosan to teach her fighting moves, the two had grown much, much closer.

"So, do you wish to talk about what happened yesterday?" Teyla asked. She had made sure to let the others get a little ahead of them and talked low enough that the Marines guarding them could not easily over hear what they were talking about.

"He took me to a pier. He wanted to talk about what had happened. He wanted to tell me why he had acted the way he did when he came in. It seems that Ronon and the Dr Keller, the me, of this universe, were a couple. He told me that he loved her. And about how she died, it is so sad. It is also strange to think that someone I know almost nothing about and another me were so close to each other."

"What became of her?"

"She died on a mission when a console she was standing near blew after a wraith blast hit it, and she died from her injuries. He told me it was like Sateda all over again. From the way he said it I assume he lost someone when the wraith attacked his world."

"That is sad. I knew that Ronon had gone through a lot what with the destruction on his world and then being a Runner. I guess there is more than we know. Ronon has never talked to me of things before the wraith came. It is good if he does talk about such things but…"

"He has never been one to open up to anyone before. I knew the man was strong, but wow. I might have bruises later." Jennifer joked, trying to lighten her mood before getting her food and sitting down with the others from her universe.

"What are you trying to say, McKay?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, this was a totally random chance we ended up here. There needs to be tests run and evaluated before I even say we can go. There are no coordinates as it were, for where we came from thanks to Dr Touchy over here. So it might take a while yet before we get back home."

"I would never have hit the button if you hadn't grabbed my wrist, McKay!" Jennifer said, as she and Teyla sat with their trays of food.

John, Teyla and Rodney all came in and walked over to the five visitors and after asking, they sat with them.

"So, Sheppard, we were just talking and thought about seeing what differences there are between our lives." John said, once he was settled in his spot.

"Where do we start?" McKay asked.

"Well, let's start with after getting here. So, since you have your own Teyla I would guess you went to Athos so let us skip that. How about, oh, did you meet the Haffan's?"

"Yes, we did. They had the virus that would make it so that the wraith could not feed on them." Emmagon said. "Carson tried to talk them out of it, but they refused to listen."

"Well, how about the um, 'destruction' of Atlantis?" McKay asked.

"Yeah, we did that." Rodney said.

"Where you stunned and taken hostage by Ronon?" John asked.

"Yes, it was an interesting experience." Emmagon said.

"I never saw the problem with it." Dex said with a smirk.

"It looks like we are batting 1,000 here." Sheppard said.

"What about Torren?" Teyla asked.

"Who?" McKay said.

"My son. Guess that means that you don't have a child?" Teyla said.

"No. Who is the father?" Emmagon asked, very interested in the new information.

"Kannan."

"Really? I am friends with him but I…"

"Yes, well she is a great mother." John said, wanting a change in subject. "What about the exploding tumors? Since Dr Keller is here I assume that still happened."

"Exploding tumors?" Jennifer said. "What exploding tumors and why would that be obvious that we knew what they were because of me?" "

The ones that were caused by an ancient device." Rodney said, slightly confused. "The reason Carson died. The reason that you, well actually Dr Keller joined in to take over as CMO."

"What?! No! Carson requested I join two years ago. People had been working so hard that Dr Heightmier filed and got the I.O.A. to grant more personal. I had worked with Carson before and he wanted me on Atlantis. He said it would be good for me. I could never do what he does." Jennifer said quickly, the idea of her even trying to fill Dr Beckett's place was insane.

"Oh wow, that is another big difference." John said. "So it seems that things are more different than we first thought."

The other continued to talk of the events that had happened in missions, but Jennifer stopped paying attention. Things were so very different and yet similar. She was thinking about these things when Ronon walked in and got his food. He looked at where the rest of his team was sitting and walked to another, unoccupied table. She watched him for a minute before standing.

"Would you mind some company?" Jennifer asked when she got to Ronon's table.He looked at her and then looked back down at his tray. He made a small wave of his hand but he made no other response. Hoping that was a yes, she sat sown across from him.

"It helps to talk about it." she told him. When she still got no verbal response, she tried another approach. "I was thinking about what you said last night and she must have been a much stronger woman than me. From what I have heard, I doubt that I could have done what she did."

Ronon looked at her closely, as if he was trying to find answers to questions that only he knew. He looked at the table that she had just left and back at his food. He took a breath and opened his mouth to speak.

* * *

**A/N **_Oh don't kill me Please if you do you will never know what happens next. Like I said this was trying to show some of the differences in the worlds. The Next chapter will tell how Ronon and 'his' Keller got together. As always Reviews are my drug of choice I crave them._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N **Sorry this is not an update I wanted to apologize for it being so long I am working on the next chapter I promise. I just had to get over the horrible scene from TLT and then RL got in the way and I haven't been able to write much. I am, like I said, working on the new chapter and while right now it is slow going I do plan on getting another chapter up before Halloween hopefully. I also want to thank everyone who is reading and the ones who are reviewing.

While I am doing this I think I will also take the time to clear up and answer some of the questions that you have on the story and the whole AU thing going.

Jennifer and the rest with her are from a timeline where as it has been pointed out is different from the one we are seeing on the Show. So the 5 (the ones that I am doing my best to call by last names only except for Jennifer since there is only one of them) are pretty much like the show versions of themselves (personality wise) so other than a few small things and the events they are the same. I will go a bit more into the relationship with the Dex Ronon and Jennifer in future chapters.

The people who's universe they are in (with the dead Jennifer) is the Show universe but with small things changed like there was no triangle and some other small things that you will see soon basically it is how I would have done things if I was in charge of the show;).

I hope that this has helped to clear up and confusion that I have left you all with.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"I didn't think she would last when she first got here. She looked too weak, like she was out of place. I thought she would run back to Earth after a couple weeks. She was a lot stronger than I gave her credit for. I never really got to see how wrong I was until almost a year after she came to the city.

"There was a lockdown that we thought was because of a disease outbreak. The self-destruct alarm sounded and I knew that we couldn't sit there and do nothing. She came up with this plan to score one of the oxygen tanks around the valve, and then let the other tank fall on the weakened tank, making it blow and hit the door.

"She was so scared. I saw her shaking and part of me was convinced that she would never go through with it and back out. I told her that if she didn't cut the tank I would. She was more worried about what would happen if I did that than anything else.

"The plan didn't work; the door was just too strong. We ended up sitting on the floor next to each other. I told her what I thought of her when I first saw her, and that I had been wrong about her. She wasn't really surprised. She told me about growing up and how she didn't really fit anywhere.

"We had our first kiss that day. It wasn't always easy. We got into fights, it seemed all the time. She would yell at me when she thought I did something reckless. I would get mad at her for refusing to carry a gun or hide some knives on her when she went off world. They never lasted long and were never big fights.

"I have thought of Atlantis as home for a while, but with her I truly felt at home."Jennifer had stayed quiet the whole time, watching emotions dance across his face. She thought it was surreal to watch this man sitting across from her. She knew Dex from his file, from the stories told about him. The things he was capable of when sparring and how he was never afraid to back down from a challenge. Yet none of that told her anything. She learned more in these few minutes of watching him and listening to him then she ever had in the whole two years she had been on Atlantis.

"It sounds like she was a much stronger and braver person that I could ever hope to be. I am sure that she treasured every moment that the two of you spent together."

* * *

At the other table, the conversation continued going on about the differences in the two worlds.

Emmagon noticed that Teyla seemed distracted, and would look over at the table where Ronon was still talking to Jennifer.

"Is something wrong?" Emmagon asked.

"I am worried about the two of them spending so much time together."

"I do not see the harm in it."

"Ronon has taken the loss of Jennifer very hard. He has only just begun to get some kind of normalcy back into his life since her death. I fear that he will become too attached to her. When she leaves, what will happen to him? It will be like going through that loss all over again." Teyla said, once again looking at the couple sitting at the other table.

"I understand." Emmagon said, trying to think of something that could help. "I have been giving Jennifer sparring lessons. Our last meeting was to have been yesterday. However, with all of the excitement of coming here we missed our appointment. Shall we go and make up for our lost opportunity?"

"That sounds good to me." Teyla said, relieved to have a reason to get Ronon and Jennifer apart.

As the two women stood, Sheppard asked where they were going.

"Just wanting to get some exercise." Emmagon said.

"Well, you probably have plenty of time. It may take us a week or two before the two of us can figure out what the Doctor over there did to send us here." Rodney said.

* * *

"What about you?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"You and Dex over there. Are the two of you together?"

"Oh! Oh no. We have hardly said more than 5 words at a time."

Ronon opened his mouth to say something when a familiar voice called out.

"Jennifer, Teyla and I were just talking and wondered if you would like to join us for some sparring." Emmagon said.

Jennifer looked at the two Athosian women then back at Ronon. He gave her a slight nod telling her to go.

"She is never really gone you know." She said, before standing up and walking away.

"So, what was yesterday all about?" Ronon looked up to see his double staring down at him before taking the seat just vacated moments before.

"It is a long story." Ronon said.

"From what Rodney and McKay are saying, we could be here for a while. I have time." Dex replied, not looking away from Ronon.

Ronon studied his other self for a moment or two deciding that if they really were the same person then Dex would not let the matter go.

"The Jennifer Keller from this universe and I were together. She died." Ronon said simply.

"She doesn't seem like my…our type." Dex said, looking toward the door that Jennifer had left through a few minutes ago.

"Well, then it is clear you know nothing about her." Ronon said, as he stood up and walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I want to say how sorry I am that I have taken so long to update this story. I had a problem with my muse and the plot bunny mysteriously disappeared, but both seem to be back and are saying do this, and this and hey what about this. Then there were the holidays. Now I am back home and things are more normal so I should be updating more regularly now. Again I am so sorry and those of you still reading *HUGGLES*

* * *

Chapter 5

Jennifer and the two Teyla's sparred for about an hour before calling a stop for the day. Teyla was impressed with Jennifer's abilities. She knew that Ronon had given his Jennifer sparring lessons but she had never really seen what the woman was capable of.

The sparring session was a light one with two sparring for a few minutes, and then one stopping to let the third woman take over. This way all three were able to spar with the other two. During the time the women talked, the main topic was the relationship between Ronon and the now dead Jennifer Keller.

"John had told me once that Ronon had lost a woman he cared for back on Sateda, but neither of us knew exactly what happened. I was very pleased to see him happy with Dr Keller. Since her death, however, he has gone back to being more like the man he was when he first came to Atlantis." Teyla told them.

"He said they fought." Jennifer said, while blocking a shot from Emmagon and spinning to the right for an attack of her own.

"Yes, but they were both looking out for the other. None of the fights were ever serious. Everyone could see how much they cared for the other, even when they were arguing." Teyla said, watching as Jennifer stepped back to let her step in against Emmagon.

"It is in a small way good to hear that for a time, even a short time, he was happy. Ron…Dex, both, really have suffered so much." Emmagon said, as she contemplated the woman who stood across from her.

"Yes he has. I just wish he would not have had to suffer this loss as well." Teyla said.

"From what I know of him, he is a survivor, but I wonder how much even he can take." Jennifer said.

"Ronon is not one who opens up to others easily. I believe his Jennifer was the only one who ever truly knew, and understood, him fully. Which is why I am worried about him now. I do not wish for him to go through the pain of losing you all over again." Teyla said.

"I am not doing anything to hurt him. I am just curious." Jennifer said, feeling guilty about what she might be doing to Ronon.

"I am not saying that you are, but Ronon still loves Jennifer very much and I do not want him to hurt any more than he is already." Emmagon said.

* * *

Ronon didn't really know where he was going when he walked out of the mess hall. He just wanted to get away, to think, to have some air. He wanted to be away from everyone. Really, he wanted to be as far from Atlantis as he could get, but he knew that would solve nothing.

He didn't pay attention to time as he walked the halls and piers of some of the outer most parts of the city. He was still in a bad mood though, and eventually he wanted to get to the gym where he could really take out his frustrations.

When he got to the gym, he saw the perfect person to take his frustrations out on. John and Dex were in the gym sparring. He watched silently as the two sparred. They were sparing with bantos rods and as usual John was not doing that well.

Jennifer had once told him that fighting was a lot like a violent dance. A dance that always changed with every encounter, and yet the basic move never changed. He had never really understood what she meant, but as he watched the two men, he could see what she had been trying to say. Of course, he told himself, it might just be that he was trying so hard to hold on to her that he was seeing things that were not really there to be seen.

John hit the ground with a groan after a hit to the back of the leg. He saw Ronon then, and wondered how long he had been there.

"No matter what universe you come from I am always going to end up with you beating me." John said, as he watched Ronon go toward the bantos rods kept in the corner, never taking his eyes off Dex.

Dex likewise watched every move that Ronon was making. When Ronon picked up a Bantos rod and swing it in his hand, Dex mirrored his move.

John noticed the sudden tension that seemed to fill the air. He stood and wisely stayed out of the middle of the two. He was curious to see Ronon spar against someone who was his equal; well, someone other than Teyla that is.

Ronon swung first. A single attack that was easily blocked by Dex. The next three attacks came swiftly by the bantos rods. The sound of the attacks blocked by Dex with his own rod made a loud staccato sound as wood hit wood. John could tell that Ronon was not holding back an ounce and was sure that when Dex went in to attack he would be the same.

Both started to attack, but neither went for more than three or four hits at a time. They were testing each other. John wondered how long it would last.

John wasn't exactly sure when, or how, but soon Major Lorne and Chuck were in the gym, the two working on odds and taking bets from the marines and scientists that had all heard about the two former Runners now going at each other full speed ahead. The grapevine on Atlantis was very fast. The crowd grew and the shouting and yelling was increasing in volume, but neither Ronon nor Dex seemed to pay any attention.

Both had quickly tired of testing each other and were instead now doing anything they could to hurt the other. For every move, though, that one made, the other had a counter. Other than a few glancing blows neither had done much to the other.

The two were moving fast. Arms, rods and even legs where used as weapons. Every now and then, there would be a pause in the sounds of sparring. A break where both men would step back, take a breath or two, and then jump right back into it news of the fight spreading like wildfire, John was not surprised when both Teyla's and Jennifer suddenly appeared at his side.

"John, are you going to stop this?" Teyla said, watching the fight that had so many of Atlantis's personal crammed in the gym.

"Teyla, look at them. They wouldn't notice if someone set off a block of C-4 in the ceiling and it fell on top of them." John said with a quick glance to the woman beside him.

"That is no reason for allowing this to continue." Teyla argued.

"He is less helpful than Sheppard is." Emmagon said, pointing to the other side of the gym where Sheppard was standing and cheering for Dex.

"John, they are going to kill each other!" Teyla shouted.

"No they aren't, and what would you suggest I do?" John said, pointing at the two sweating and by now bleeding men as if to further his point that there was nothing anyone could do.

"Well, there has to be something we can do to stop this." Teyla said, watching helplessly as the fighting continued.

That was the time Dex got in a solid hit to Ronon's side causing Ronon to take a couple steps back.

The crowd surged forward. People pushed forward to see if Dex had finally gotten the upper hand against Ronon, and in the confusion, someone's elbow hit Jennifer in the side of the head.

Disoriented, Jennifer stepped away from the person whose flailing limb had hit her. Unfortunately, her only path of exit took her right into the middle of the fight between Dex and Ronon.

The crowd instantly fell silent and watched helplessly as, Dex, unable to stop his attack, continued to swing his bantos rod towards her face.

THUD!

The only sound heard was the sound of solid wood hitting soft flesh and the sound of the body hitting the floor. That moment seemed to stretch for hours instead of seconds before John started to issue orders and make an urgent radio call to the infirmary.

* * *

**A/N 2:** OMG please don't kill me I have to stay alive if you want to find out what happens next. I have already started on and am working on the next chapter so hopefully it wont take too long to get it posted. :D As always Reviews are my drug of choice. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**A N:** first I am so very very very sorry that it has taken so long to update this story. I was having issues with the two Ronon's conversation. I didn't like it and so I re-wrote it and didn't like it and so again I re-wrote it and again and again and so on. I am still not overly thrilled with the conversation between them but it is the best of all of them. Now that I have gotten through this surprisingly hard chapter the rest will come easier. I am sad to say this chapter is on the short side. hopefully the next one will be longer.

* * *

Jennifer thought it cliché, but still felt that time had slowed. She heard gasps as the people around realized what was about to happen. She saw the flash of surprise and horror on Dex's face. She knew she was going to be hit, and did the only thing she could. She started to fall.

Jennifer felt the blow land, and then…nothing, until she woke with a pounding headache in the infirmary, surrounded by the double faces of John, Telya and Ronon..

"Welcome back." Dr Moran said. "You took a bad hit, but luckily it was more of a glancing blow. I will be keeping you around for a little while for observation though, since you did get hit in the head."

"Are you okay?" Sheppard asked.

"Other than the splitting headache, I feel fine." Jennifer answered, looking around.

"Between all of us we can probably hold Dex down so you can hit him. If that would make things better." Sheppard joked, earning a glare from Dex.

"That's okay. Thanks for the offer though." Jennifer replied, with a smile.

"Dr Keller needs her rest." Dr Moran told the group gathered around Jennifer's bed.

"You did well." Emmagan told her as everyone started to leave.

"With what, getting hit? I thought that the idea was not to get hit." Jennifer said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yes, it is better to not get hit, but falling the way you did, it made the hit you took less severe than it could have been." Emmagan said, patting her hand.

Jennifer nodded and gave a little wave as everyone left.

* * *

"Let's talk."

Dex came to a stop and looked at his double. He gave a slight nod, and the two walked off in silence to the South Pier.

Ronon and Dex stood looking out over the ocean for a few moments before Ronon broke the silence.

"I know what you think about her. I felt the same way once, but she is not what you think.

"I wont try and tell you what to do. I will tell you that she is always a surprise, and no one will replace her."

"No one can replace…"

"Jennifer wasn't a replacement! I will always love Melena, but she is in the past for both of us. I could not keep living with the dead. I…We will never get back what was taken by the Wraith, but there is nothing wrong with moving ahead." Ronon told Dex, then turned and walked back to the city leaving Dex staring out at the water in front of him.

Ronon was looking for John in the mess hall when he overheard John's voice. Slowing, he listened to the conversation he was having before making his presences known.

"Well, I stopped by the lab just before coming here. Rodney and McKay are working very well together. Hopefully they will get everything patched up and get you all sent home soon."

"Well of course they would work well together." Sheppard quipped.

"If only Ronon and Dex could get along as well." Teyla said.

"They are too stubborn, which can be a good thing for us, but put them together and well, you saw what happened." Sheppard replied.

"Both have been through so much. The loss of their home world, almost everyone they knew and losing Jennifer. No one can blame them." Teyla added sadly.

"Well, Dex has not lost Jennifer, seeing as how he never had her in our universe." said Sheppard.

"It could still happen." John shot back.

Ronon turned and walked away, never letting the group know he had been there.

Ronon headed to his quarters his mind on what he had over-heard. Rodney and McKay would soon be sending the double's back to their own universe, and that meant losing Jennifer all over again.

* * *

Jennifer was drumming her fingers on the bed. She was bored, and she wanted to leave the infirmary. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back she let out a sigh, wondering how much longer she would have to stay before they let her out. Maybe she could try and sneak out.

"Doc"

"Jeez! you scared my Dex." Jennifer said, with a gasp, after opening her eyes to see the man standing beside her bed.

"Sorry."

"It's alright, no harm done. So what brings you here? Is it time to go back to our Atlantis?"

"No. I mean sorry for hitting you."

"Oh. Well, that is okay, you couldn't have avoided it. Plus it was my fault for stepping into the middle of your match. I should have been more aware of where I was, so it is my fault." Jennifer reassured him.

"You will be okay though."

"Of course I will. It was just a glancing blow."

"You don't get knocked out because of a 'glancing blow'." Ronon pointed out.

"Okay, so maybe more than a 'glancing blow' but I am still fine." Jennifer told him.

Dex looked down and nodded.

Jennifer was a bit surprised this was, by far, the longest conversation they had ever had. She had talked to Ronon for much longer but for her to talk to Dex was a new experience.

"Thank you. You didn't need to come down here and apologize, but I am glad you did." Jennifer said, feeling nervous by the silence.

Dex looked her in the eye for a moment before nodding.

"I'll let you get your rest." Dex said, turning and leaving Jennifer alone once again.

**AN: **I hope you liked it. I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. :D Reviews are like Ice Cream and I could use a nice big sundae ;)


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